The Importance of Staying On Mission

There’s a poster on the wall at Codebreak with this year’s goals – all the things we need to tick off to hit the mission. Bribes included.

If your team doesn’t know what the mission is, and why it matters, you’re not going to get there. And it blows my mind how many business owners just don’t talk about it. Or worse – they think they’ve communicated it, but they haven’t.

They’ve just assumed everyone’s on the same page, when in reality, no one’s even reading the same book.

We missed our May meeting – the first one in four years. That’s a leadership issue.

And I’m p*ssed off with myself about it.

But it’s also a reminder: you’ve got to keep your team focused. Regular catchups. Quarterly meetings. Daily stand-ups. Realignment. Not just for the sake of it, but to keep moving towards the thing you’re all building together.

Otherwise, you’re just busy. You feel productive – but you’re not making progress.

Yesterday I had one of those days.

Strategic work, client stuff – no busy work. I went home not tired and felt like I’d had quite a lazy day. But it wasn’t lazy – it just didn’t look how I thought it should.

But when I asked myself, did it contribute to the mission? The answer was yes.

And that’s the test. That’s the question you should be asking yourself and your team every day: did this move us closer to the mission?

So many businesses exist just to exist.

Which is fine – it pays the bills, keeps the kids fed. But if you’re trying to scale, trying to hit something bigger, you’ve got to communicate the mission.

That means defining it clearly. Explaining the why, breaking it down. How many boxes go out, how many leads come in, how many landing pages are needed. How many ads, videos, testimonials.

What’s happening this month? What are we doing next month? When’s the next quarterly?

And what does success actually look like?

One of our team members was promoted recently – her fourth in four years. But it slows down now. She has more responsibility. More pressure. And that’s fine, because we’re aligned. We’re building something.

Promotions aren’t about speed. They’re about value, maturity, leadership. And when you’re building towards a mission, that stuff matters.

But not everyone’s up for that.

We’ve had meetings where people have said it’s not for them, and that’s okay. Better that than staying in the business and pulling in a different direction.

You can’t drag someone up a mountain if they don’t want to climb it. I remember saying early on that I wanted to take the whole Codebreak team to Orlando. Most people didn’t buy into that idea at first.

They thought I was nuts.

But I’ve said it so often, it’s happening. Even before we worked with Neil. Even before he moved to Florida. Now, finally, the stars are aligning – not because of magic, but because we’ve been pointing at the same thing for years.

That’s what happens when you have a mission. And when you don’t? You drift. Clients get confused. The team gets confused. You get distracted. You start doing work that doesn’t serve the goal.

And then you wonder why things aren’t working.

I’ve learned a lot in the last year. Business is hard, especially when life is hard – family in hospital, operations, pressure at every angle. And still, you’ve got to show up and lead. You’ve got to make the decisions no one else can.

Because when the mission is big – like growing a business to £2 million – it’s supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

But they don’t, because it requires grit, clarity, and constant alignment.

Taking over the business last year was difficult.

One of my best mates – my business partner at Codebreak – was pulling in a different direction. The business was tanking. But we got through it, because we had a mission.

Recently, we’ve faced legal battles we didn’t ask for. People charging back after great service, clients with winding up orders that weren’t disclosed – situations we couldn’t have predicted.

But you learn. You build resilience.

You adjust and you keep going. We’re bringing in new staff, saying goodbye to old ones. That’s part of it. But every change is an opportunity to realign, reinforce the mission and get clear on what matters.

In other words, make sure you’ve got the right people on the bus – and that they know where the bus is going.

Because marketing is about connection.

Connection with your clients, with your team, with your suppliers. If everyone’s beating the same drum, you build momentum. If they’re not, you leak. Clients fall through the cracks, people get confused, your message gets diluted.

That’s why you need the monthlies, the quarterlies, the weeklies. And not just meetings, but communication. Alignment.

Reminders of what’s important and why.

If you don’t have a mission, get one. If you do, talk about it. All the time. Make sure everyone knows it. Make sure it connects. Make sure it gives people something to aim at.

And don’t just stick it on a slide once a year and forget about it. Embed it. Live it.

Personally, I’m in a transition. I’m in a comfortable house, things are ticking along, but I’ve got to realign too. What do I want next? Where do I want to live? What kind of man do I want to be? What kind of boss?

You need a personal mission, just like you need a business one.

Because otherwise, you’re just coasting. And coasting doesn’t get you to Orlando – or wherever your version of Orlando is.

Don’t miss the next episode of Stay Hungry – we’ll dive into straight-talking insights on business marketing, growth mindset, and the realities of running a business. And if you want to take the hassle out of your marketing, we’ve got you covered with our done-for-you service.